site.btaCentral Bank Deputy Governor Chobanov: It Is Up to Us to Take Advantage of Eurozone Opportunities

Membership in the euro area will provide a number of opportunities, but it is up to Bulgaria to take advantage of them, Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Deputy Governor Petar Chobanov said during a discussion on Bulgarian tourism and Bulgaria's eurozone accession in Sofia on Tuesday. It is organized by the National Tourism Board and the event is under the auspices of Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh and with the institutional partnership of the Ministry of Tourism.

"Thanks to the currency board and the stability of the Bulgarian lev, we have managed to join the European Union and to move towards the euro area, and in 2020 we entered both the ERM II (European Exchange Rate Mechanism) and the Banking Union. That is to say, with one foot we are already figuratively speaking in the euro area itself in terms of supervision and regulation of the banking system. We can see that we act there quite adequately, on a par with the others and even in certain cases we have something to give in terms of methodology, in terms of supervision of the system in general," said Chobanov.

"Events will develop in a similar way after we join the euro area and in terms of monetary policy, which we will then conduct together with all the other countries that are part of the euro system. [...] Joining the euro area will not be only a path that is strewn with roses - there we will really have to think together with everyone else and then, when there are problems in the euro area itself, to contribute to their resolution," Chobanov said.

In his words, by joining the eurozone, which boasts over 300 million consumers, Bulgaria will also get the adequate assessment of its success in the form of an increased credit rating, which will allow the country to get cheaper financing.

The BNB deputy governor advised business representatives not to look in the direction of price increases as this could affect inflation, which is one of the criteria for eurozone membership.

"The eurozone is an issue that we are going to resolve very soon with a common effort and therefore I would like to take the liberty and from a personal capacity to advise all of us who are here and those who are watching us, in the coming months to concentrate our efforts and to refrain from raising prices. You know that one of the criteria is inflation, you know that we have succeeded in meeting this criterion, and to hold and consolidate this success, we just need a little more effort," said Chobanov.